Why Libor Defies Gravity

"Lou Barnes... has three Libor-linked mortgages of his own, valued at more than $800,000 in all. Because his own loans don't reset for several years, he isn't worried about being hit. But he says he does worry that many other U.S. consumers have fortunes tied to this interest rate that few understand. ``They don't know how to pronounce it. They don't know what it means,'' Mr. Barnes says."